Back from Pittsburgh

I just spent a glorious week in my favorite city, staying with my mom and having fun with friends and family. Also one of my favorite people, Harold Marcus, got married on August 21 and I can't remember being so full of joy for everyone involved. When Harold broke the glass with his heel, everybody yelled "Mazel Tov!!" The rabbi said that the breaking of the glass was for remembrance of the destruction of the Second Temple, but it also signified the letting go of what is old and used up and making a new beginning. I couldn't have said it better myself.

My mother grew up in a very small community called Woods Run, along the Ohio River. She wanted to get out and do something (she doesn't drive anymore) so we got into my car without a map--I was feeling adventurous that day--and coming over the Fort Pitt Bridge I turned onto the North Shore exit. We drove around in circles for a while but I had no problem with this because one thing I really like to do is get lost in Pittsburgh. We finally found the street my mother grew up on but everything was gone. The Western Penitentiary was still there, but shiny new factories stood along the Ohio River instead the row of humble houses where my family lived. I thought that maybe my mom would feel sad about this but she didn't--she never was one for clinging tightly to the past. Relationships yes; real estate no.

I was also able to spend time with two friends from the past. I think in each case we felt that the friendship was still alive and viable so that means I have a growing support system in my favorite city. I could not ask for more.